Capsule For Beverages

ABSTRACT

Capsule for beverages includes a casing with a base and side wall defining a cavity suitable for containing an initial product for combining a fluid to obtain a final product, and a flange rim extending from the side wall. The base wall has an opening bounded by a base rim extending up to the side wall; the capsule includes a cover element, fixed to the flange rim to seal hermetically the cavity which is perforable by an extracting or injecting arrangement of a dispensing machine having a usable capsule, and a closing element fixed to the base rim to seal hermetically the capsule, which is respectively perforable by an injecting or extracting arrangement of the dispensing machine; wherein the closing element has greater dimensions than the base wall and is fixed to the side wall remaining joined to the capsule in the presence of a pressure increase inside the capsule.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national phase of PCT International ApplicationNo. PCT/1B2014/065358 filed Oct. 16, 2014. PCT/IB2014/0065358 claimspriority to IT Application No. MO2013A000297 filed Oct. 17, 2013. Theentire contents of these applications are incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to capsules or containers for preparing products,for example beverages, in automatic dispensing machines.

BACKGROUND

In particular, the invention relates to a single-dose and disposablesealed capsule containing an initial product such as, for example,powder coffee or an infusion product that is able to make a finalproduct by interacting with pressurised fluid.

The known capsules for use in dispensing machines are disposable andsingle-dose containers comprising an outer casing, made of plasticsimpermeable to liquids and to gases and having a beaker or cup shape.

FIG. 3 shows a capsule 1 as disclosed in application ITMO2013A000214 ofthe same applicant.

The casing, indicated by 2, has a base wall 3 and a side wall 4 definingan open cavity 5 into which a product P can be inserted, for exampleground coffee or tea, from which the beverage can be obtained. Aflange-shaped rim 7 is connected to the side wall 4, extends therefromand is arranged around an upper opening of the cavity 5. The upperopening is hermetically sealed by a cover element 8, typically analuminium or plastics film, that is fixed to the edge 7 of the casing 2so as to seal the product P inside the container.

The base wall 3 of the capsule 1 further has an opening, for examplecircular, bounded by an annular base rim 3 a onto which a further coverelement 25 is fixed, that is made of a material that is similar to thematerial of the cover element 8.

The capsule is perforable to enable the pressurised liquid, typicallywater, to be delivered, and the obtained coffee beverage to exit. Inparticular, the further cover element 25 and cover element 8 arerespectively perforable by a suitable pressurised fluid injectingarrangement and an extraction arrangement of a dispensing machine toenable the pressurised liquid to be delivered and the beverage to beextracted.

Alternatively, the capsule can also be inserted into dispensing machinesof known type in which the cover element 8 and the further cover elementare respectively perforable by a pressurised fluid injecting arrangementand an extracting arrangement of a dispensing machine.

In other words, both the cover element 8 and the further cover element25 are made of an easily perforable material that causes the capsule tobe able to be used with great flexibility of use in dispensing machines,regardless of whether the cavity faces upwards or downwards.

The capsules are usually filled with the initial product P by means of amanufacturing process that supplies the thermoformed casings to afilling station and subsequently supplies these filled casings to awelding station to seal the cavity by welding the cover element to theflange rim of the capsule, the further cover element having been alreadyfixed to close the base rim 3 a. During this fixing of the coverelement, into each capsule an inert gas such as nitrogen is delivered toreplace the air to maintain the organoleptic properties of the initialproduct P unaltered owing to the inhibiting and bacteriostatic action ofthe gas used.

Nevertheless, if ground coffee is supplied to each casing, it is knownthat after roasting and grinding the coffee continues to be transformedeven in the presence of the inert gas, releasing over time carbondioxide and aromas in a ratio that is inversely proportionate to thetime that has elapsed since roasting. For this reason, the ground coffeeis usually subjected to a degassing step in storage silos, which isnecessary for freeing the coffee from the carbon dioxide that isnaturally released by the coffee.

SUMMARY

One problem of capsules of known type is that they can be filled withground coffee that has not been subjected to the degassing step or hasnot been subjected to the degassing step is an efficient manner. Inthese capsules, the coffee can release carbon dioxide and can thus causean unexpected increase of the pressure inside the capsule, which maycause deformations or an undesired swelling of the cover element and/orof the further cover element but which can even compromise the wholenessof the capsule, usually at the further cover element.

The excessive pressure can in fact cause tearing of the further coverelement and the separation thereof from the base wall of the capsule,the further cover element being connected to the base wall by a weldingrim that depends on the dimensions, which are often reduced, of the basewall.

The problem of the release of carbon dioxide is known not only forcoffee, as said previously, but also for certain types of partiallyfermented tea, which may thus continue to ferment, releasing carbondioxide also after the capsules have been filled. Also in this case, afilled capsule may break, due to the excessive build-up of pressureinside the capsule.

This problem is even greater if it is considered that after the capsuleshave been filled with the initial product P and packaged they may bestored for a long time in warehouses waiting to be distributed toconsumers. A capsule may also break after the capsule has been purchasedby a consumer and can thus cause damage in an uncontrolled manner.

One object of the present invention is to improve known capsules forbeverages, in particular capsules that are usable in known dispensingmachines, ensuring the wholeness of the capsule regardless of theinitial product with which it is filled.

Another object is to devise a capsule that can be filled also withinitial products that are able to release a gas after filling withoutthe wholeness thereof being compromised over time.

A further object is to devise a capsule in which a closing element isfixed to a flange rim and a further closing element is fixed to the basewall, in which the further closing element does not separate from thebase wall when subjected to pressure.

A still further object is to obtain a capsule that is cheap and easy tomake.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a capsule for beverages isprovided according to the independent claim and one or more of theclaims appended thereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be better understood and implemented with reference tothe attached drawings, which illustrate some embodiments thereof by wayof non-limiting example, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross section, with parts removed for the sake ofclarity, of a capsule according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged schematic cross section of a base wall ofthe capsule in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross section of a known capsule for beverages.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a capsule 1 for beveragesaccording to the invention, for producing a final product, in particulara hot beverage, for example coffee, barley, herbal tea, tea, chocolate,etc, by injecting a hot pressurised fluid F inside the capsule.

It is pointed out that for uniformity with the prior art capsuledisclosed in FIG. 3, the same numeric references are assigned to thesame components.

The capsule 1 of the invention comprises an outer casing or container 2,in turn comprising a base wall 3 and a side wall 4 defining an opencavity 5 and that is suitable for containing an initial product P, forexample a soluble or percolable food product to be combined with afluid, typically water, to obtain a final product. The base wall 3 andthe side wall 4 define a body of the capsule 1 substantially in the formof a beaker or cup. According to one embodiment, the base wall 3 is flatand in particular of circular shape.

The casing further comprises a flange rim 7 connected to the side wall 4and extending therefrom, arranged around an upper opening of the cavity5. The flange rim 7 is further opposite the base wall 3 and facesoutside with respect to the cavity 5.

The base wall 3 of the capsule has an opening 30, for example circular,bounded by a base rim 3 a, for example annular, extending up to the sidewall 4 of the capsule and comprises an annular wall 31 that extendsaround the opening 30 inside the cavity 5 and defines a recessed portionof the base wall 3, made in a single body with the base wall 3.

The annular wall 31 has an inner end provided with a respective rim 31 afacing a symmetry axis A of the capsule 1, that bounds a hole 32substantially of the same size as the opening 30. The annular wall 31defines in this manner a through conduit having the opening 30 that isan outer end opening, i.e. facing the outside of the capsule, on theside opposite the hole 32 of the inner end.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rim 31 a of the annular wall 31 faces theportion of the cavity 5 intended for receiving the initial product P andcontributes, if the base wall 3 of the capsule 1 is intended in use tobe perforated by an injecting arrangement of the dispensing machine andthe initial product is powder coffee, to maintaining said coffee powdercompacted, avoiding preferential fluid paths being created therein thatmay give rise to a beverage of poor quality. It is in fact known thatthe pressurised fluid injected into the capsule has to be distributed asuniformly as possible in the initial product in order to be able toextract therefrom aromatic components to be transferred to the beverage,above all if the initial product is powder coffee. The through conduitdefined by the annular wall 31 achieves in use a guiding element of aninjecting arrangement of the dispensing machine.

The casing 2 is made by forming a sheet of thermoformable plastics (notshown) that is suitable for the process of preparing the final productfrom the initial product P, for example able to withstand temperaturesup to 100° C. and pressures up to 5 bar without deformation.

Such a sheet of plastics 100 can have a thickness comprised between 15micron and 1600 micron, in particular between 400 micron and 1200 micronand is made of polyolefins, for example polypropylene PP and/orpolyethylene PE and/or polyamide PA.

In detail, the sheet material can comprise a first layer of material, inparticular suitable for contacting and/or conserving the initial productP, for example made of polypropylene PP that is impermeable to humidity,a second layer of material that is not in contact with the initialproduct P made of a material that is impermeable to gases, in particularto oxygen and optionally also to humidity, also known as a barrierlayer, and a third external layer of material.

The barrier layer, interposed between the first and the third layer,ensures the complete insulation of the cavity 5 from the outerenvironment, in particular if the first layer is permeable over time tooxygen. The barrier layer has a thickness comprised between 2 micron and100 micron, in particular between 15 micron and 70 micron, and is made,for example, of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), which is gas-impermeableonly to the oxygen or polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), which isgas-impermeable to both oxygen and humidity.

According to a first embodiment (not shown) of the sheet material, thefirst and third layer are made of the same material, for examplepolypropylene PP and are coupled with the barrier layer interposedtherebetween. These layers can have the same thickness (for example 350micron), or different thicknesses (for example the first layer can havea thickness of 500 micron whereas the third layer can have a thicknessof 300 micron).

According to a second embodiment (not shown), the first layer is asupport and is made of polypropylene PP, the second layer is the barrierlayer (EVOH or PVDC) and the third layer is an extruded layer ofpolypropylene PP or polyethylene PE, with a thickness of 15 micron,which is coupled with the first and the second layer during the processof manufacturing the sheet material.

The sheet material, both according to the first and the secondembodiment, is thus selected so as to protect over time the initialproduct P contained in the capsule from humidity and oxygen.

The capsule further comprises a cover element 8 fixed to the rim 7 ofthe casing 2 to seal hermetically the capsule 1, i.e. the open cavity 5and thus preserve the product P. The cover element 8 comprises a film ofaluminium or a plastic film provided with a barrier layer that isperforable by an extracting arrangement of the final product or by aninjecting arrangement of the initial fluid F of the dispensing machine.

The cover element 8 is fixed to the rim 7 of the casing 2 by thermal orultrasound welding or by gluing. In particular, the cover element 8 isfixed to the casing 2 by locking thermowelding, in the sense that thisthermowelding ensures that the capsule conserves over time the initialproduct P in ideal conditions when stored during storage.

A closing element 26, which is similar to the cover element 8 and isperforable by an injecting arrangement of the fluid F or by anextracting arrangement of the final product, is fixed to the further rim3 a outside the base wall 3, to hermetically seal the opening 30. Asalready said for the cover element 8, the closing element 26 is fixed tothe annular rim 3 a by thermal or ultrasound welding or by gluing and inparticular the closing element 26 is fixed to the casing 2 by lockingthermowelding in a joining portion 33.

The thickness of the cover element 8 and/or of the closing element 26 isexpressed in grammage and is comprised between 5 and 120 g/m².

According to the invention, the closing element 26 has greaterdimensions than the base wall 3 and is also fixed to the side wall 4 toremain joined to the capsule even in the presence of a pressure increaseinside the capsule, as will be seen below.

It should be noted that the base rim 3 a defines a base edge 34 with theside wall 4 and that the closing element 26 extends beyond the base edge34 and is superimposed on the side wall 4 along the entire base edge 34,and namely angularly all around with respect to the symmetry axis A ofthe capsule.

The closing element 26 is superimposed and fixed to the side wall for atleast one strip of 2 mm measured from the base edge 34, in particularfor 2.5 mm, but can be fixed to the side wall 4 for the entire side wall4.

If the closing element 26 is disc-shaped and the base wall is circularand flat, or a polygon that can be inscribed in a circle, the closingelement 26 has a greater diameter than the base wall 3.

The side wall 4 comprises a first portion 4 a connected to the base edge34 and a second portion 4 b defining with the first portion a side edge35. The second portion 4 b extends up to the flange rim 7, as shown inFIG. 1.

It should be noted that the first portion 4 a is of frustoconical shapeand has a first tilt, which is greater than a second tilt of the secondportion 4 b, which is also of frustoconical shape. The first and thesecond tilt are measured with respect to the symmetry axis A of thecapsule.

Nevertheless, it is pointed out that the side wall 4 and thus the bodyof the capsule could be shaped differently and not have frustoconicalportions but for example truncated-pyramid portions that can beinscribed into frustoconical portions. For example, the first portioncould be truncated-pyramid and the second portion could also betruncated-pyramid, both, for example, with an octagonal base but with adifferent tilt.

Optionally, the side wall 4 of the capsule could also comprise aplurality of frustoconical or truncated pyramid portions with agradually decreasing tilt and thus comprise a plurality of side edges.

In other words, although the closing element 26 is shown in FIGS. 1 and2 as associated with the casing 2 having a specific shape, the casing 2could be shaped otherwise, with regard to the base wall 3, the side wall4 or the flange rim 7, and everything said previously with regard to theclosing element 26 would continue to be valid.

We have said that the closing element 26 is fixed to the base rim 3 aand to the side wall 4 by thermowelding.

In detail, the closing element 26 is fixed to the side wall 4 in theentire first portion 4 a. In other words, the joining portion 33 bymeans of which the closing element 26 is thermowelded to the capsule 1extends in the annular base rim 3 a, which is flat, and in the firstportion 4 a of the side wall 4, oblique to the base rim 3 a, through thebase edge 34 up to the side edge 35.

Experimentally, it has been verified that the closing element 26 remainsjoined to the capsule even in the presence of a pressure increase insidethe capsule because the joining portion 33 placed at the base rim 3 aseparates at pressure of about 2 bar whereas the joining portion 33placed in the side wall 4 remains unchanged up to 4.5 bar, a pressurebeyond which the casing 2 of the capsule 1 is torn together with theclosing element 26.

In detail it has been verified that:

-   -   at 0.5 bar the closing element 26 shows a swelling but the        joining portion 33, placed in the base rim 3 a and in the first        portion 4 a, remains unchanged;    -   at 1 bar the joining portion 33 placed in the base rim 3 a        starts to separate but the joining portion placed in the first        portion 4 a remains unchanged;    -   at about 2 bar the joining portion 33 placed in the base rim 3 a        separates but the joining portion placed in the first portion 4        a remains unchanged;    -   up to 4.5 bar the joining portion 33 in the first portion 4 a        remains unchanged;    -   beyond 4.5 bar the closing element 26 and the casing 2 are torn        by excessive pressure but the thermowelding in the joining        portion 33 through which the closing element 26 is joined to the        capsule 1 remains unchanged.

Up to 4.5 bar, it is thus ensured that a circumferal rim of the closingelement 26 remains joined to the capsule, in particular to the side wall4 thereof, by locking thermowelding ensuring the wholeness of thecapsule even at high pressures.

It has in fact been observed that the pressure released inside thecavity 5 of the capsule stresses the closing element 26 perpendicularlyat the opening 30 and this causes the joining portion to be pushed in adirection that is orthogonal to the welding plane in the base rim 3 a.

Nevertheless, the joining portion 33 is stressed only obliquely at thefirst portion 4 a, after the base rim 3 a has been separated, becausethe closing element 26 continues to be pushed mainly perpendicularly atthe opening 30 by the pressure inside the capsule.

Owing thus to the fact that the closing element 26 is fixed both to thebase rim 3 a and to the side wall 4, a capsule can also be filled withan initial product that releases gas inside the capsule, because boththe cover element 8 and the closing element 26 can withstand highpressure without compromising the wholeness of the capsule.

It follows that the capsule can also be filled with coffee that has notbeen completely degassed, because the higher pressure that may developinside a capsule is less than the pressure at which the closing element26 separates from the capsule. The capsule of the invention thus remainssealed even after a time has elapsed since the filling thereof,regardless of the initial product with which the capsule is filled(ground coffee degassed or not or tea) and regardless of the moment atwhich it is consumed by the user.

Further, the process of manufacturing each capsule becomes cheaperbecause it is no longer necessary to subject the ground coffee to adegassing step but it is possible to fill the capsules with coffee thathas just been roasted and ground.

1-9. (canceled)
 10. A capsule for beverages comprising a casing in turncomprising: a base wall and a side wall defining a cavity that issuitable for containing an initial product to be combined with a fluidto obtain a final product, and further a flange rim extending from saidside wall, said base wall having an opening bounded by a base rimextending up to said side wall; wherein said capsule further comprises acover element, fixed to said flange rim to seal hermetically said cavitywhich is perforable by an extracting arrangement or an injectingarrangement of a dispensing machine in which said capsule is usable, anda closing element fixed to said base rim to seal hermetically saidopening, which closing element is respectively perforable by aninjecting arrangement or an extracting arrangement of said dispensingmachine; wherein said closing element is of greater dimensions than saidbase wall and is also fixed to said side wall to remain joined to saidcapsule even in the presence of a pressure increase inside said capsule.11. The capsule according to claim 10, wherein said base rim defines abase edge with said side wall, said closing element extending beyondsaid base edge and being superimposed on said side wall along the entiresaid base edge.
 12. The capsule according to claim 10, wherein saidclosing element is superimposed and fixed to said side wall for at leastone strip of 2 mm measured from said base edge, in particular for astrip of 2.5 mm.
 13. The capsule according to claim 10, wherein saidclosing element is superimposed and fixed to said side wall for theentire side wall.
 14. The capsule according to claim 11, wherein saidclosing element is disk-shaped and has a diameter that is greater than adiameter of said base wall.
 15. The capsule according to claim 14,wherein said side wall comprises a first portion connected to said baseedge and a second portion defining with said first portion a side edge,said closing element being fixed to said first portion of said sidewall.
 16. The capsule according to claim 15, wherein said first portionis of frustoconical shape and has a first tilt that is greater than asecond tilt of said second portion, which is also of frustoconicalshape, said first and said second tilt being measured with respect to asymmetry axis of said capsule.
 17. The capsule according to claim 10,wherein said closing element is fixed to said base rim of said capsuleand to said side wall by thermowelding at a joining portion.
 18. Thecapsule according to claim 17, wherein said base rim defines a base edgewith said side wall, said closing element extending beyond said baseedge and being superimposed on said side wall along the entire said baseedge, said side wall comprising a first portion connected to said baseedge and a second portion defining with said first portion a side edge,said closing element being fixed to said first portion of said side walland wherein said joining portion extends in said base rim and in saidfirst portion through said base edge up to said side edge.